Detachable wire frame for brassieres



14, 1952 L. FAIRBANKS E TTAL 2,613,355

DETACHABLE WIRE FRAME FOR BRASSIERES Filed July 14, 1949 V INVENTORS 1E6 mxeanu/rs mu; Rosa/F540 WMML Patented Oct. 14, 1952 UNITED OFFICE IDETACHABLE WIRE FRAME FOR BRASSIERES Lee Fairbanks, Jackson Heights, N. Y., and 7 Paul Rosenfeld, Newark, N. J.

Application July 14, 1949, Serial No. 104,752

provision of a wire frame for brassieres which may readily be attached thereto by the ultimate user and which may equally as readily be detached therefrom for cleaning and other purposes. V 1

Wire framed brassieres are well known to the brassiere industry. Such brassieres are generally quite expensive and if a proper fit is desired, the brassiere and its wire frame must be individually fitted to the person of the wearer. The attachment of wire frames to brassieres is, today, a professional matter which only experienced brassiere makers are able to accomplish. There are no wire frames available at the present time which the average woman would be able to attach to a brassire with the sewing skill and means which are available to her.

The present invention provides a wire frame for brassieres which can very easily be attached to the brassieres by women who are inexperienced in the brassiere making art. It comprises a wire frame which is mounted in a cloth sheath, a cloth tape of substantially the same shape as said wire frame and its said cloth sheath, and

means for detachably securing the cloth sheath to said cloth. tape. The tape may be sewed by any person capable of using a sewing needle or operating a sewing machine, to an ordinary brassiere. The sheath with its wire frame mounted therein may. then very easily and quickly be attached to said tape, and the brassiere thereby acquires the characteristics of a wire frame brassire. In the preferred form of this invention snap fasteners are utilized as the means for detachably securing the wire sheath to the tape. It will be appreciated, therefore, that said sheath with its wire mounted therein may very readily be detached from the brassiere for laundering and other purposes, as and when desired.

Not only is the sheath and its wire frame mounted therein readily detachable from the brassire, but said wire frame is equally as readily removable from its said sheath. In the pre ferred form of this invention, the wire frame includes two arms or wings and the sheath is accordingly made in two parts, one for each of said arms or wings. The wire framemay be mounted in its said sheath by simplyinserting its two arms into the two parts of the sheath. This is a highly desirable feature since it renders it possible to launder the sheath without damaging the'wire frame.

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-302) It will be seen from the foregoing that the present invention is capable of converting or transferring a conventional wireless brassiere to a wire framed brassire. Since the wire frame is just as easily detachable from the brassiere as it is attachable thereto, a wire framed brassire made in accordance with the present invention may be reconverted to a wireless type of brassire by the simple expedient of removing its wire frame. 1

What has been said above with respect to brassieres is equally true of foundation garments having brassire attachments. It is also equally true of halter-type garments and of bathing and swimming suits. In each case a wireless garment may be converted to a wire framed garment by simply attaching the wire frame-attachment herein described and claimed.

It is important to note that the wire frame attachment herein claimed may be attached to the wireless garment by the individual owner and user thereof so that in each case the wire frame attachment may be individually fitted to the individual requirements of the wearer. In other words, a wire framed brassiere or similar garment may be had'in each case which will be similar in fit and comfort, as well as in function, to the custom-made brassieres of professional brassiere makers.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a wire frame attachment for brassires which is adapted to convert a shoulder strap type of brassiere to'a strapless brassiere. The wire frame attachment constituting the present invention may be secured to the brassire in two ways: it may be placed under the bust pockets and it may be placed above the bust pockets. In the first case the attachment transforms an ordinary wireless strap type of brassire to a Wire frame strap type of brassire; in the second case the attachment transforms an ordinary strap type of brassiere to a wire framed strapless brassire. In both cases, however, the wire frame attachment is detachable without difficulty so that the brassiere may be laundered without damaging the wire.

The wire frame attachment herein described and claimed may take many forms and all of these forms are herein contemplated and'ineluded within the scope and coverage of the claim. One preferred form is shown solely, for purposes of illustration in the drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a brassire incorporating the wire frame attachment of the present invention, the inside of said brassire being shown; g

Brassire l shown in the drawing is illustra-.

tive of the different garments to which the present invention is applicable. What is herein said,

therefore, regarding brassieres, is equally true of halter-type garments and swim suits andthe like. The brassiere shown in the drawingcomprises a body portion II and a pair of bust pockets l2 and I3 respectively. Apair ofback straps l4 and I5 respectively and hooks and eyes 16 and I! respectively .secure the brassiere to the person of the wearer.

Sewed to the 'brassire adjacent andoutlining thebustpockets; is-atape 20. This tape may be-made of cloth or any conventional textile fabric or any othersuitable material. It is looped 'over upon-itself at-its 'centeriportion and it' is curved between its said -1ooped center 'portion anditsen'ol'portions to form'a pair of wings which correspond to-the curvature of the bust pockets. members 2| is fastened to said tape alongvirtually its entire length.

Supported 'by'said-tape' isia sheath and it will-be seen-from thedrawing that said *sheath -A plurality of female snap fastening Q may comprise two separate and separable parts,

eachconstituting a sheath or sheath member.

'the'spacing of the'female .snap -fastening'mem- 'bers 21. It will bennderstood*thatthese male and female snap' fastening. members are adapted to .coact'with .eachother so that the sheath may be detachablysecured to the tapexby means of .said snapfastemngmembers. The sheath maybe "made of'tubularmaterial such .as cloth tubing -or tubing made of any suitable textile fabric. 'In'theJpreferre'dfOrm of this invention thesheath comprisesa'tube'which is made by sewing two strips of .material "to :each other along 'their respective edges; .a strip Of tape material 21 and a .strip of plush material .28. The plush'material faces on the inside .of .the 'garment'toprovide a cushioning effectagainst theperson of the wearer. The snap fastening elements 26 are attached, "however, ,to .the tape material 21, since that is a .stronger material and it faces thetape'iZU.

A "wire frame'30 is ,providedffor the .atta'chmentherein claimed and it 'will'be seen that it comprises a single length of wire whichis looped at.its centerportion'Sl andis provided with end' loops 32 and"33 respectively .and which is curved .or bowed between. itscenter loop -3l and 1 its end loopi32 and between its .said center loop and its other en'dloop I33. .The curvature of the wire frame between its-said center loop and its two..en'd loops corresponds to the 'curvature of the.bust pockets. Thiswire frame should be made of spring material such was .resilient stainless steel. -Its vtwo-bowed wing; portions may beinsertedinto'the .correspondingqparts of the sheath as 'Fig. '2-..clear1yshows. .It will beseen, however,. that the centerloop: portion 3 I projects upwardlyand outwardly from the sheath and a cover for said loop portion is therefore pro- 4 vided on tape 20 as Figs. 1 and 4 clearly show. This cover comprises a strip of material 35 which is sewed to the central fold of tape 20. This strip of material 35 may then be folded over upon itself as shown in Fig. 1 to form a pocket for the wire loop 3|. It may then be sewed to the brassiere so .that it will; functionpermanently asa pocket for .the wireloop. ,Sincepart of the pocket faces the person of the wearer, the material of which said pocket is made may be the same plush material of which sheath sections 28 are made.

'It' has above been stated that this wire frame attachment may be incorporated into a shoullder-strapitype of brassire to convert it to a strapless brassire. This may be done by taking .the .very-same' attachment which has above been below the bust-pocketsand in'thesecond case it is attached above them.

It will "be'appreciated that the foregoing'is descriptive of preferred forms'only of the-several parts of the attachment herein claimed and that these forms may be modified in many'ways without departing from the basicprinciples of the'invention. For example the-wire frame is shaped in one preferred'way. It may be shaped in many other ways and yet be usable and useful in connection with the present invention. In its'preferred form his made of-spring metal but other materiaLsuch as strong, springy plastics may be used'to equal advantage. 1

Another illustration of the waythis preferred form of the invention may be modified without altering the invention itself is to be found in the method and means of affixing the tapeto the brassire. It has above been stated that the tape may be sewed to the brassire. This is a practicalway of attaching the tape to the brassiere, but it will be obvious that there are other methodsas, for example, by the use of a cement or other suitable adhesive.

We claim: v v A :wire frame attachment for brassieres and the: like, comprising :a cloth tape which consists of two arcuate portions joined together at one end, apair ofarcuate'cloth sheaths, :snapf-fasteners on said tape and'sai'd :sheaths for :detachablyasecuring said sheaths. to said'tape,:.'and a wire frame having two .arcuate'portions'which are "joined together at ome .end, said zarcuate portionsvof'the wire: framei being :removably .insertecLin said .cloth sheaths' LEE FAIRBANKS.

PAUL ROSENFELD.

REFERENGE'S CITED .The following references are of record inithe file of'this patent:

UNITED STATES'IPA-TENTS France -Aug. 22;..1936 

